In 2018, Louisiana's Coastal Program dredged 22 million cubic yards of sediment and created 4,753 acres of new land and marsh. Since 2007, the program has dredged 152 million cubic yards of material, benefiting 46,058 acres of land.

2. More cute birds

Audubon Louisiana monitored 145 nest boxes of prothonotary warblers across nine study sites in Louisiana this year. Three sites were entirely run by volunteers. Average nest success across all study sites was 80 percent. A total of 311 prothonotary warbler chicks fledged from the nest boxes.

Shell’s recent success in the US Gulf of Mexico includes its deepwater Dover discovery on Mississippi Canyon 612, reported last year, near its Appomattox platform. The well was drilled by the Deepwater Poseidon ultra-deepwater drillship. Sources: Shell, Transocean.

In lieu of the traditional shovel groundbreaking, Miami City Commission chair Ken Russell, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Miami city manager Emilio T. Gonzalez (pictured l-r) perform the ceremonial water toss to mark the start of the first Miami Forever Bond project tackling flooding and sea-level rise. (Photo by City of Miami Office of Communications)